Deputy Al Broward asked those waiting for evaluations to „bear with us.”
A new initiative is being launched in Guernsey to address the increased demand for autism and ADHD diagnostic pathways.
The Health and Social Care Committee (HSC) says it has approved plans to provide extra capacity for an autism diagnostic service for children.
The initiative will see UK-based Psicon conduct additional assessments over a six-month period.
Deputy Al Broward asked those waiting for evaluations to „bear with us.”
The Pediatric Autism Diagnostic Service is open for referrals from the community from October 2021.
According to the HSC, around 250 children were currently awaiting assessment, which was „significantly more” than the team could see.
'Assessment Path'
The team said it will also explore options to increase the capacity of the ADHD diagnostic clinic to face similar challenges.
About 20 adults were referred for assessment 10 years ago, compared to 230 last year.
The number of children referred for assessment also increased, with 24 referred in 2020, rising to 133 in 2023, the HSC said.
Mr Brouwert said: „We are grateful to the Policy and Resource Group for supporting our desire to launch a new initiative to get more children through the assessment pathway for autism diagnosis and we hope the six-month partnership with Cycon will help.”
He said: “Our team is well aware of similar challenges facing our ADHD diagnostic clinic, which cannot keep up with demand.
„We are looking to increase the capacity of that service in the coming months but, in the meantime, we ask that people who are waiting for an assessment appointment please be patient with us and the team running the service.”